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Oil leaking?

BadJesse

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Hey fellas,

So i moved my car and and when i was walking past my other car spot i noticed little oil drops.


What can cause this?


Cheers
 

fitz_vt

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blown seals... blown gaskets. sump plug not tight enough. depending on what type of oil it is red (trans, powersteering fluid) or brown (engine oil) theres alot of things it could be (but based on it being a VT commodore sounds like the rear main seal they're notorious for leakage.)
 
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BadJesse

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My old celica had the same leak, ended up being a plug somewhere.

Its leaking engine oil. Black but in light, dark brown.
 

fitz_vt

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id start by checking the sump plug its located on the passenger side of the engine if its not that i would get the rear main seal checked but or check it yourself jack your car up put it on jackstands and then check at the back of the sump if theres oil there its most probably the rear main seal (common fault)
 

BadJesse

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I will check it tomorrow and get back to you.

Is this an easy fix?

Appreciate the answer.
 

shadetreemechanic

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Stick a bit of heavy cardboard under or maybe with a brick to hold it. Notice the oil spots and see if you can spot the area above it. All commos leak a bit but if the fluid levels are consistent its prolly a tiny leak (mine leaks at the main seal and the power steering reservoir and I don't care)
 

BadJesse

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Haha no problem, its not major, just some spots and i havent changed the oil or anything yet. ill give her a good sproose and get back to you guys.
 

pablo

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Any oil leak that suddenly just starts should be checked out pronto. I could be the start of a big leak, like the sump drain plug working it's way out, or power stearing hose about to come adrift. Both highly unlikely, but should be checked.
 
M

mwb235

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Hey fellas,

So i moved my car and and when i was walking past my other car spot i noticed little oil drops.

What can cause this?

Cheers

My old celica had the same leak, ended up being a plug somewhere.

Its leaking engine oil. Black but in light, dark brown.

My VT has this same fault. It's leaking the same colour oil and in two places. Seems to leak more immediately after a long distance highway trip. My mechanic says the bigger leak is the rear main seal. The smaller leaks may be coming from the sump (but definitely not the sump plug) and/or steering rack but he is yet to get a closer look at those. It's one of those things i've been putting off doing since at least 2008 as the leaks are minor.

Apparently the rear main seal itself is cheap ($20 or something) but it takes a full day's work to get at it so the labour cost is high - i was quoted $500 "at least". Not sure yet about costs on the other leaks. I'm getting it all fixed up in a few weeks' time but it's been too long.
 

])R@G()N

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If its a V6 it will be the rear main seal and sump gasket.

I got my rear main done 2 years ago it cost me $500 in labor,

Its not just the seal you'll will have to buy, There is a aluminum housing that the seal gets pressed into, they warp and start leaking also.

From memory its about $120

vtv6.jpg


The Red arrows are pointing to the worst design I have ever see..

It looks like the aluminum housing fits perfectly into the cast iron engine block But it doesn't So you'll need a good sump gasket Because there will be a gap between the aluminum housing and the engine block where the sump gasket sits. (I should of taken a photo it)

A sump gasket is about 20mm wide, on my one were the arrows are pointing I had about 2-3mm on each side were the aluminum housing and engine block was touching to get a good seal (its still leaking to this day)

I hate oil leaks, But its a lot of work to fits and its a A-hole of a job and Its a lot of money for a leak that will probably come back due to a crap design
 
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